Perhaps the only thing that changes more rapidly than technology in today's amped-up digital environment is the terminology used to describe that technology and its impact on consumers--and marketers. One recent example is the advent of the term "omnichannel" marketing, which many struggle to differentiate from another relatively recent term--"multichannel" marketing. Still, those who are most enmeshed in the field say there is a key distinction between the two, and it's one that will have an impact on marketers as they continue to seek ways of having a meaningful impact on the consumers they hope to engage. And, importantly, it's less about technology than it may seem.

InFocus: Code Green Networks, Inc.

When consumers and businesses think of online security, firewalls and passwords are likely to be the first things that come to mind, not data loss prevention (DLP)—at least not yet. Code Green Networks sees that changing, and the company expects to be a major player in overall adoption of DLP solutions. "We’re still fighting an awareness issue out there of people becoming aware of the magnitude of the problem and the existence of solutions," says Daniel Udoutch, president and CEO of Code Green Networks. "It’s getting easier by the day and by the week. DLP doesn’t roll off someone’s tongue the way firewall or password does."

In September, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Code Green Networks announced plans to expand beyond the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market into the enterprise market, and it brought Udoutch—whose resume includes positions with Netscape Communications and IBM—onboard to help guide the company through the expansion.

This growth plan certainly isn’t a stretch for Code Green Networks. The company’s founders, Sreekanth Ravi and Sudhakar Ravi, have strong roots in security products. They ran an internet security company, SONICWALL, Inc., for 12 years before founding Code Green Networks. "Much of the founding team that was with them for years at SONICWALL came to Code Green," says Udoutch. "The idea was [that] data loss prevention is a logical next-generation security product. Instead of keeping the bad guys out, it’s keeping the good data in, realizing people are communicating and sharing data more than ever now through options such as web mail, Facebook, and wikis."

As a result, the implications for the enterprise company are huge. Code Green Networks is designed to help organizations safeguard both employee and customer information through these emerging electronic communication channels. "If you’re running a large company and you have sensitive data like account numbers and Social Security numbers, you should care about if it’s sitting out there on the laptops of your employees," says Udoutch. "You should care about if it’s emailed. You should care if it’s being posted to Facebook or MySpace. You should care if someone’s copying it on to a flash drive. You should care if it exists in multiple file systems. Our notion is to identify the sensitive data and provide an integrated way to know where it is; where it’s being sent, copied, used, [and] residing; and [to] let you take action based on any of that."

Udoutch stresses that Code Green Networks isn’t abandoning the SMB market, but it is poised to serve an enterprise market that needs such solutions. "It really seems perfectly timed. The product is there and the company hasn’t overspent on sales and marketing prematurely," says Udoutch. "We have about six to eight very strong competitors, and all but two of them have been purchased in the last year. We have the intention of being the strongest independent, dedicated stand-alone DLP provider. There’s a huge market out there."

Udoutch says the fact that Code Green Networks’ solutions work out of the box also helps set the company apart from the competition. For instance, he says, "we can drop [a shipment] into Taiwan, and [people] can just plug it in," explains Udoutch. "From an enterprise or architectural point of view, I think our biggest advantage is we’re a totally integrated and complete solution."The advantages for Code Green Networks customers are both financial and legal. "What we’re responding to is more than you do in most technologies," says Udoutch. "Many technologies address how do I do something faster, cheaper, better—ways that aren’t necessarily disruptive; they’re just evolutionary. The revolution side of DLP has been two things: the cost and pain caused by some of these high-profile leaks." Udoutch points to the well-publicized case involving retailer TJX as one example.

In addition, Udoutch notes that an increasing amount of state, federal, and industry-specific legislation related to data security has been appearing. On Oct. 1, 2008, a statute went into affect in Nevada that requires businesses to encrypt their customers’ personal information. "It’s going beyond best practices into now everyone from Main Street to Wall Street is at risk in terms of the digital world," says Udoutch. On Jan. 1, 2009, Massachusetts-based organizations that store residents’ personal information on electronic devises, such as laptops, will be required to encrypt that data.

Udoutch notes the rewards of working for an organization that can help solve a problem that affects all consumers. Having a front-row seat in an emerging technology is equally rewarding. "Every employee here has a personal stake; and you’re watching a growth area in a tech industry," he says. "There’s a little bit of that ‘feel good’ feel."

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Fun Fact: Code Green Networks holds participative get-togethers, such as rock wall climbing and go-cart racing. At the company’s go-cart event, CEO Daniel Udoutch had the fastest lap time of anyone in the company. But, he had an edge—Udoutch previously took courses at an Indy driving school.